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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of frontline employees in service innovation from a service-dominant logic (SDL) perspective. Frontline employees lack a formal innovation obligation. Service innovation is a resource integration process resulting in the creation of new value propositions. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of service innovation projects that includes three different businesses in the IT sector and personal interviews with 25 frontline employees. Findings – The findings suggest that frontline employees contribute to service innovation by test-driving potential value propositions. Three types of value proposition test-driving have been identified: cognitive, practical, and discursive. The findings suggest interdependencies between the different modes of value proposition test-driving, as well as specific phases of the service innovation process dominated by one form or another. Research limitations/implications – Value proposition test-driving offers a fruitful context for managers to involve frontline employees and use their creativity and expertise. The case study approach, however, limits the statistical generalizability of the findings. Originality/value – The study is novel in that it introduces the notion of value proposition test-drivingfor service innovation; provides a systematic empirical analysis of how frontline employees contribute toservice innovation by test-driving value propositions; offers a service innovation model informed by the SDL; and contributes to the SDL by detailing how service innovation occurs in practice.

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to explore the capability of Swedish regional public transport authorities (RPTAs) to organize public transport so that it stimulates the intended value creation process needed to increase users’ positive experience. Design/methodology/approach – This thesis utilizes an interpretative research approach. Two empirical studies, resulting in two papers have been used in this thesis. Study I consists of a quantitative Kano questionnaire with 930 respondents. Study II comprises a qualitative study with 11 semi-structured interviews. Both studies have been equally necessary to the results of this thesis. Findings – Public transport is one of the few public services with a mandate to attract users, and therefore, this thesis suggests that Swedish public transport organizations must understand how various services in multiple dimensions affect users’ preferences for public transport. With this understanding, public transport organizations can effectively and efficiently allocate resources and increase the appeal of future public transport. Such a focus demands a deep organizational knowledge and understanding of customer needs and detailed awareness of how the achievement of various requirements affects customers. This thesis shows that organizational structures are based on political comprises rather then the needs to solve coordination challenges and facilitate customers’ value creation. It is further argued that the organizational structures and personal or impersonal information processing mechanisms in Swedish public transport influence the search for information and subsequent organizational learning influencing the RPTAs’ capabilities to include and understand public transport users’ needs. This thesis offers insight into how public organizations, such as Swedish public transport authorities, can make decisions in structural design to learn from customer perceptions and adapt organizational policy accordingly. In addition, I a, Public transport is one of the few public services with a mandate to attract users, and therefore, this thesis suggests that Swedish public transport organizations must understand how various services in multiple dimensions affect users’ preferences for public transport. With this understanding, public transport organizations can effectively and efficiently allocate resources and increase the appeal of future public transport. Such an approach requires not only a deep organizational knowledge of customer needs, but also a detailed knowledge of how the achievement of the various demands affects users and their value creation. This thesis further shows that organizational structures are based on political comprises rather then the needs to solve coordination challenges and facilitate customers’ value creation. It is here argued that the organizational structures and personal or impersonal information processing mechanisms in Swedish public transport influence the search for information and subsequent organizational learning influencing the RPTAs’ capabilities to include and understand public transport users’ needs. This thesis offers insight into how public organizations, such as Swedish public transport authorities, can make decisions in structural design to learn from customer perceptions and adapt organizational policy accordingly.

In-store events are increasingly used to provide customers with unique shopping experiences. Although recent studies indicate that such events positively influence customers' purchase intentions and store choice decisions, little is known about how customers respond to various in-store events. This paper investigates one type of in-store event that is frequently used in several food and non-food contexts. Specifically, the study investigates how an in-store product demonstration influences customers' subsequent purchase behavior depending on whether they are restricted or encouraged to touch the products being demonstrated. An initial scenario-based experiment involving 35 undergraduates aimed to examine how people intuitively think that restricting (versus encouraging) touch during an in-store product demonstration would influence their subsequent purchase behavior. A two-way ANOVA with participant gender and experimental condition as the between-subjects factors consistently showed that people hold a lay theory that restricting touch should have a negative impact on the amount of money they spend and the number of products they purchase. A second field experiment involving 126 customers in a retail store aimed to investigate whether this lay belief is consistent with customers' actual purchase behavior. Counter-intuitively, a two-way ANOVA with customer gender and experimental condition (touch restriction, touch encouragement) as the between-subjects factors revealed that restricting touch during an in-store product demonstration resulted in significantly more money being spent, a larger number of products being purchased, and more expensive products being purchased. These findings show that consumer lay theory can directly contradict customers' actual purchase behavior. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to explore the capability of Swedish regional public transport authorities (RPTAs) to organize public transport so that it stimulates the intended value creation process needed to increase users’ positive experience. Design/methodology/approach – This thesis utilizes an interpretative research approach. Two empirical studies, resulting in two papers have been used in this thesis. Study I consists of a quantitative Kano questionnaire with 930 respondents. Study II comprises a qualitative study with 11 semi-structured interviews. Both studies have been equally necessary to the results of this thesis. Findings – Public transport is one of the few public services with a mandate to attract users, and therefore, this thesis suggests that Swedish public transport organizations must understand how various services in multiple dimensions affect users’ preferences for public transport. With this understanding, public transport organizations can effectively and efficiently allocate resources and increase the appeal of future public transport. Such a focus demands a deep organizational knowledge and understanding of customer needs and detailed awareness of how the achievement of various requirements affects customers. This thesis shows that organizational structures are based on political comprises rather then the needs to solve coordination challenges and facilitate customers’ value creation. It is further argued that the organizational structures and personal or impersonal information processing mechanisms in Swedish public transport influence the search for information and subsequent organizational learning influencing the RPTAs’ capabilities to include and understand public transport users’ needs. This thesis offers insight into how public organizations, such as Swedish public transport authorities, can make decisions in structural design to learn from customer perceptions and adapt organizational policy accordingly. In addition, I a, Public transport is one of the few public services with a mandate to attract users, and therefore, this thesis suggests that Swedish public transport organizations must understand how various services in multiple dimensions affect users’ preferences for public transport. With this understanding, public transport organizations can effectively and efficiently allocate resources and increase the appeal of future public transport. Such an approach requires not only a deep organizational knowledge of customer needs, but also a detailed knowledge of how the achievement of the various demands affects users and their value creation. This thesis further shows that organizational structures are based on political comprises rather then the needs to solve coordination challenges and facilitate customers’ value creation. It is here argued that the organizational structures and personal or impersonal information processing mechanisms in Swedish public transport influence the search for information and subsequent organizational learning influencing the RPTAs’ capabilities to include and understand public transport users’ needs. This thesis offers insight into how public organizations, such as Swedish public transport authorities, can make decisions in structural design to learn from customer perceptions and adapt organizational policy accordingly.

Consumer awareness is continuously increasing towards pro-environmental behavior. Thus, we developed a web-based environmental feedback tool EcoRunner, which is designed for Swedish households aiming at increasing the awareness in a more pro-environmental direction. The conceptual model of EcoRunner has been developed based on top-down and bottom-up approaches connecting economic activities within a household to environmental pressures (both direct and indirect). In addition, the development of the tool includes a multi-level model aiming at better tailor-made advice to consumers. In this paper, we examine the EcoRunner tool with average single Swedish household expenditures as well as explore options for reductions and systems effects. Analysis shows that food and non-alcoholic beverages, fuel for personal transport (e.g. car) and air transports have significant environmental pressures. In addition, this study suggests that EcoRunner could be used in education systems as an environmental feedback tool to enlighten consumers motivation and change consumption patterns.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what options the adult learner has for continued learning and what role universities are playing in providing net-based education. Current options for lifelong learning and improvement opportunities in the educational process are described based on an assessment inspired by principles of lean management. Design/methodology/approach – Sweden is chosen as an example. The current level of net-based university education and the demand for it is assessed using official Swedish data. Lean management principles are used as a starting point to define parameters for interest for the adult learner. These parameters are then converted into a five-level scale for assessing current performance with focus on university courses. The authors also study how Swedish County Councils manage their employee education and carry out a check of courses offered by massive open online course providers. Findings – Lean management principles in combination with customer focus seem to present relevant parameters for assessing distance education. Preliminary results indicate that lean lifelong learning has a considerable improvement potential. The main reasons for this potential seem to be more of a bureaucratic and political nature, whereas technology and resources appear to be less of an issue. Practical implications – The results have implications for both universities and organisations. The pressure on universities to become more customer-focussed, while at the same time, cost-effectiveness is likely to increase. Originality/value – Using the customer perspective for educational services and applying lean principles to education.

Purpose - This paper aims to extend understanding of business-to-business relationship dynamics by introducing and discussing the phenomenon of a "negative critical wave" (NCW), defined as a disturbance in a relationship that emerges and develops within or beyond individual working relationships. Design/methodology/approach - The dynamics of working relationships in two manufacturing firms in Finland and Sweden were studied by analysing the narratives of unstructured personal interviews with 16 middle managers and 14 operational executives, who recalled experiences of relevant situations over three years, with emphasis on unexpected disturbances, challenges and problems. Findings - Respondents discussed 77 NCWs, the development and effect of which proved to depend upon the original "locus", "magnitude" and "amplitude", and embedded "energy". Waves could be distinguished as: "silent compact", "silent extensive", "intense compact" or "intense extensive". Research limitations/implications - The wave metaphor for relationships dynamics, consistent with but distinct from established notions of "critical time" and "critical incidents" and the associated classification system are a useful starting point for further research into the phenomenon. Though the qualitative methodology achieved richness, the small sample and restricted scope place limits on the objectivity and generalisability of the findings. Practical implications - The NCW framework offers strategists and managers a holistic understanding of the dynamic process of criticality, synthesising the complexities of relationship dynamics and pointing to ways in which to absorb the energy of negative waves. Originality/value - More is now known about the domino effects of critical incidents in internal and external business-to-business relationships.

Manufacturing firms develop and introduce service innovations to achieve a competitive advantage and differentiate their market offerings. The installed base of products becomes a platform for selling services hence improve their corporate revenues. Previous research has supported a number of hypotheses about how new product development (NPD) and new service development (NSD) should be performed – but do these findings for NPD and NSD hold for NSD in manufacturing firms? The hypotheses about NSD in manufacturing firms that were tested in this study concern the role of the NSD strategy, how to use resources, how to organize, and the development process to use. A survey was performed on 785 NSD projects, including both manufacturing and service firms. The paper provides five propositions about NSD in manufacturing firms concerning how to succeed with service innovation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain the elements that constitute customer orientation and that, in turn, influence customer satisfaction. In particular, this study focuses on how service firms design, collect, analyse and use customer-satisfaction data to improve service performance. This study has the following three research objectives: to understand the process and, as a consequence, the phases of customer orientation; to investigate the relationships between the different phases of customer orientation and customer satisfaction; and to examine activities in the different phases of customer orientation that result in higher customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach– This study, combining quantitative and qualitative research, is based on a cross-sectional survey of 320 service firms and a multiple case study of 20 organisational units at a large service firm in the European telecom industry. Findings– The results show that customer orientation consists of a process that includes three phases: strategy, measurement and analysis and implementation. Contrary to previous research, implementation has the strongest influence on customer satisfaction. In turn, customer satisfaction influences financial results. In-depth interviews with managers provided insights into the specific activities that are key for turning customer-satisfaction measurements into action. Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain what constitutes customer orientation and, in turn, influences customer satisfaction and financial results. Given the large amount of research on customer satisfaction, studies on how service firms collect and use customer-satisfaction data in practice are scarce.

Organizations need to gain legitimacy from their stakeholders in order to be able to attract resources. This is of particular importance for organizations that are highly dependent on other actors in their environment. This holds especially true for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) since DMOs are dependent on a number of different stakeholders in order to be able to carry out their tasks. Legitimacy may therefore be seen as the most critical asset for this kind of organization. It is argued in this paper that gaining legitimacy through the use of rhetoric is a useful strategic approach that a DMO may adopt in order to mobilize support and resources from its stakeholders. To gain legitimacy by using rhetoric - to be able to conform to, adapt to, convince and even manipulate the institutional logic of important stakeholders - becomes an essential strategic approach. An analytical model on legitimation strategies by the use of rhetoric for DMOs has been developed. The model is illustrated by means of a case study of a regional destination development project in central Sweden. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purpose - Despite efforts by researchers and managers to better link marketing activities with business financial outcomes, there is general agreement that by and large chief marketing officers (CMOs) (and marketing in general) have lost strategic decision-making influence within organizations. The purpose of this paper is to understand the causes of this decline and offer recommended solutions to counteract this trend. Design/methodology/approach - In-depth interviews lasting between 40 and 55 minutes were conducted with 25 chief executive officers (CEOs) of service companies located in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. In total, 13 difference countries were represented. Using Emerging Consensus Technique, we identified four main themes, which cause the goals of CEOs and those of CMOs/marketing to diverge. Findings - The primary cause of the decline of strategic influence of CMOs and marketing overall with CEOs is a function of four key issues: first, the role of the CMO (e.g. task overload, focus on tactical issues, "outdated" skill set); second, lack of financial accountability (e.g. the inability to connect marketing efforts to financial returns); third, digital and social media (e.g. a perceived obsession with new technology); and forth, lack of strategic vision and impact (e.g. lost sight of "core" job, use of irrelevant metrics). Practical implications - The findings indicate that CMOs must address the four key issues uncovered for marketing to attain/regain a role in strategic decision making. A proposed roadmap for putting marketing back on the CEOs agenda is presented to guide CMOs.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the positioning of textual and pictorial design elements on a package affects visual attention (detection time) toward these element types. The study has a 3 × 2 (Stimulus × Location) between-subjects design. One pictorial and two textual package elements, located on the top right- or top left-hand side of a package, were used as stimuli. Visual attention was measured by eye-tracking. A total of 199 university students participated. The data were analysed using a two-way ANOVA and a Pearson’s chi-square analysis with standardised residuals. The results show that in order to receive the most direct attention, textual elements should be on the left-hand side of a package, whereas pictorial elements should be on the right-hand side. This is inconsistent with previous design directions (based on recall), suggesting the opposite element organisation. Previous research has focused on recall (whether respondents remember having seen package elements) or preference (whether respondents prefer a package based on element positioning). The focus of the present study was whether respondents actually saw the different elements on a package, and how long it took them to detect such elements. Detection time for certain element types can be viewed as a new and complementary way of evaluating the position of package elements. The paper also addresses whether preference is a result of easy information acquisition.

Feedback is generally used to monitor progress toward different goals and standards in life, and to adjust behaviour accordingly. EcoRunner was developed as a web-based feedback tool providing environmental and financial information about households’ daily consumption. This paper presents a user experience study of this feedback tool, and addresses the influences of goal-setting on the experience. The results show that people who more often set financial and pro-environmental goals in life find the tool more attractive, more useful, believing it to have influenced their current behaviour and believing it will be helpful when changing (regulating) future consumption behaviour. Conclusions are drawn that feedback tools like EcoRunner may have different effects for different subgroups in society. It is further suggested that EcoRunner could be used as a tool in education, at different levels in schools and higher education, for enlightening consumers about the relationship between household spending and environmental consequences.

Feedback is generally used to monitor progress toward different goals and standards in life, and to adjust behaviour accordingly. EcoRunner was developed as a web-based feedback tool providing environmental and financial information about households’ daily consumption. This paper presents a user experience study of this feedback tool, and addresses the influences of goal-setting on the experience. The results show that people who more often set financial and pro-environmental goals in life find the tool more attractive, more useful, believing it to have influenced their current behaviour and believing it will be helpful when changing (regulating) future consumption behaviour. Conclusions are drawn that feedback tools like EcoRunner may have different effects for different subgroups in society. It is further suggested that EcoRunner could be used as a tool in education, at different levels in schools and higher education, for enlightening consumers about the relationship between household spending and environmental consequences.

Feedback is generally used to monitor progress toward different goals and standards in life, and to adjust behaviour accordingly. EcoRunner was developed as a web-based feedback tool providing environmental and financial information about households’ daily consumption. This paper presents a user experience study of this feedback tool, and addresses the influences of goal-setting on the experience. The results show that people who more often set financial and pro-environmental goals in life find the tool more attractive, more useful, believing it to have influenced their current behaviour and believing it will be helpful when changing (regulating) future consumption behaviour. Conclusions are drawn that feedback tools like EcoRunner may have different effects for different subgroups in society. It is further suggested that EcoRunner could be used as a tool in education, at different levels in schools and higher education, for enlightening consumers about the relationship between household spending and environmental consequences.

Feedback is generally used to monitor progress toward different goals and standards in life, and to adjust behaviour accordingly. EcoRunner was developed as a web-based feedback tool providing environmental and financial information about households’ daily consumption. This paper presents a user experience study of this feedback tool, and addresses the influences of goal-setting on the experience. The results show that people who more often set financial and pro-environmental goals in life find the tool more attractive, more useful, believing it to have influenced their current behaviour and believing it will be helpful when changing (regulating) future consumption behaviour. Conclusions are drawn that feedback tools like EcoRunner may have different effects for different subgroups in society. It is further suggested that EcoRunner could be used as a tool in education, at different levels in schools and higher education, for enlightening consumers about the relationship between household spending and environmental consequences.

Feedback is generally used to monitor progress toward different goals and standards in life, and to adjust behaviour accordingly. EcoRunner was developed as a web-based feedback tool providing environmental and financial information about households’ daily consumption. This paper presents a user experience study of this feedback tool, and addresses the influences of goal-setting on the experience. The results show that people who more often set financial and pro-environmental goals in life find the tool more attractive, more useful, believing it to have influenced their current behaviour and believing it will be helpful when changing (regulating) future consumption behaviour. Conclusions are drawn that feedback tools like EcoRunner may have different effects for different subgroups in society. It is further suggested that EcoRunner could be used as a tool in education, at different levels in schools and higher education, for enlightening consumers about the relationship between household spending and environmental consequences.

Existing research suggests three theoretical pathways for service business development. The first pathway involves incremental enhancement of relational value for existing supplier–buyer relationships (Alpha). The second pathway captures financial value-seeking behavior in existing and new supplier–buyer relationships (Beta). The third pathway is a radical leap toward a new value constellation downstream in the value chain (Gamma). Our main research question aims at the exploration of these three pathways with respect to small and medium-sized suppliers. The research design is based on an exploratory study and an in-depth study. The exploratory study was able to replicate these three pathways in the empirical context of small and medium-sized suppliers. The in-depth study explores and describes co-evolvement of the dynamic and operational capabilities of each pathway. The results provide testable propositions that can be used to guide future research. The paper offers a comprehensive framework that will assist researchers in the conceptualization of paths for service business development and in the operationalization of capabilities. For managers, its value lies in a description of the capabilities needed to achieve an incremental enhancement of relational value in existing supplier–buyer relationships (Alpha), financial value-seeking behavior in existing and new supplier–buyer relationships (Beta), and radical leaps into new value constellations downstream in the value chain (Gamma).

Much current research fails to provide in-depth explanations as to how and with what resources frontline employees deal with incidents where customers display dysfunctional behaviour. By drawing on theory of implicit knowledge and practical judgement this paper aims to explain this and conceptualize inherent structures and sub-mechanisms, central to service marketing. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and narratives from four different industries, each representing service provision wherein customer misbehaviour is found to be frequent. The results display linkages between the central dimensions of dealing with customer misbehaviour. When incidents of misbehaviour occur they are met by tactics ranging from routinized action to more analytical and strategic approaches. These tactics are guided by underlying mechanisms in the form of practical judgements based on rules, balanced adjustment or reflection, with the judgements in turn being informed by implicit knowledge based on norms, schemes, or multi-perspective thinking. The study reveals patterns of linkages between these.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of customer complaining behaviour as a dynamic process in accordance with the service-dominant logic perspective of marketing. Design/methodology/approach - The study reviews the common behaviour models of customer complaints and relates this to the service-dominant logic perspective in order to develop and describe a dynamic conceptual model of customer complaining behaviour. Findings - The proposed model posits three categories of complaining behaviour due to a customer’s unfavourable service experience: (i) no complaining response, (ii) communication complaining responses and (iii) action complaining responses. Research limitations/implications - Empirical validation of the proposed conceptual model is needed. Practical implications - The proposed model can be used by managers to understand the various behaviour responses of customer complaints that the company experiences. In addition, the model assists in framing appropriate managerial responses, including service recovery and improved service design. Originality/value - The study represents a thorough conceptual examination of the complaint process and proposes a dynamic model of customer complaining behaviour based on the service-dominant logic perspective.

Much current research fails to provide in-depth explanations as to how and with what resources frontline employees deal with incidents where customers display dysfunctional behaviour. By drawing on theory of implicit knowledge and practical judgement this paper aims to explain this and conceptualize inherent structures and sub-mechanisms, central to service marketing. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and narratives from four different industries, each representing service provision wherein customer misbehaviour is found to be frequent. The results display linkages between the central dimensions of dealing with customer misbehaviour. When incidents of misbehaviour occur they are met by tactics ranging from routinized action to more analytical and strategic approaches. These tactics are guided by underlying mechanisms in the form of practical judgements based on rules, balanced adjustment or reflection, with the judgements in turn being informed by implicit knowledge based on norms, schemes, or multi-perspective thinking. The study reveals patterns of linkages between these.

Much current research fails to provide in-depth explanations as to how and with what resources frontline employees deal with incidents where customers display dysfunctional behaviour. By drawing on theory of implicit knowledge and practical judgement this paper aims to explain this and conceptualize inherent structures and sub-mechanisms, central to service marketing. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and narratives from four different industries, each representing service provision wherein customer misbehaviour is found to be frequent. The results display linkages between the central dimensions of dealing with customer misbehaviour. When incidents of misbehaviour occur they are met by tactics ranging from routinized action to more analytical and strategic approaches. These tactics are guided by underlying mechanisms in the form of practical judgements based on rules, balanced adjustment or reflection, with the judgements in turn being informed by implicit knowledge based on norms, schemes, or multi-perspective thinking. The study reveals patterns of linkages between these.

Much current research fails to provide in-depth explanations as to how and with what resources frontline employees deal with incidents where customers display dysfunctional behaviour. By drawing on theory of implicit knowledge and practical judgement this paper aims to explain this and conceptualize inherent structures and sub-mechanisms, central to service marketing. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and narratives from four different industries, each representing service provision wherein customer misbehaviour is found to be frequent. The results display linkages between the central dimensions of dealing with customer misbehaviour. When incidents of misbehaviour occur they are met by tactics ranging from routinized action to more analytical and strategic approaches. These tactics are guided by underlying mechanisms in the form of practical judgements based on rules, balanced adjustment or reflection, with the judgements in turn being informed by implicit knowledge based on norms, schemes, or multi-perspective thinking. The study reveals patterns of linkages between these.

Much current research fails to provide in-depth explanations as to how and with what resources frontline employees deal with incidents where customers display dysfunctional behaviour. By drawing on theory of implicit knowledge and practical judgement this paper aims to explain this and conceptualize inherent structures and sub-mechanisms, central to service marketing. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews and narratives from four different industries, each representing service provision wherein customer misbehaviour is found to be frequent. The results display linkages between the central dimensions of dealing with customer misbehaviour. When incidents of misbehaviour occur they are met by tactics ranging from routinized action to more analytical and strategic approaches. These tactics are guided by underlying mechanisms in the form of practical judgements based on rules, balanced adjustment or reflection, with the judgements in turn being informed by implicit knowledge based on norms, schemes, or multi-perspective thinking. The study reveals patterns of linkages between these.

This paper seeks to (A) contribute to a theoretical understanding of the organizational enactment of the customer and (B) illustrate how customers are enacted in two public industries: public housing and public transport. Empirically three instances of enactment are attended to within the two industries: customer rhetoric, operational procedures, and the physical customer environment. The study shows how the customer emerges as an open object of managerial knowledge, influenced by contingencies present in and around the organizations. The study explicates the customer's role in organizational practice by bringing forward the dual function of reduction (of complex contingencies) and projection (of established organizational conditions) exercised when the customer of discourse is translated and enacted. It also questions the hegemonic/universal assumptions about customer orientation found in critical and managerial text, respectively.

A key question for firms nowadays is how to organise work with quality management. This naturally includes the role of the quality managers and it appears as if the profession of quality managers is at a crossroads. Alternatives are that the role of a quality manager broadens to include quality at a strategic level in the firm and that Six Sigma specialists and Lean Production managers drive the development of quality management in the future. In this paper, we present the results from a survey of 212 quality managers in Swedish organisations. The purpose is to contribute to an understanding of how the management of quality is designed and practised in contemporary organisations. This study shows that a quality manager's operational responsibility is quite narrowly defined. The agenda of the quality manager is mainly related to quality standards, such as ISO 9000 and environmental management systems. These programmes frame the work of the quality manager, which in many cases leaves other programmes, such as Six Sigma and Lean Production, to other departments or parallel improvement structures.

Purpose - The objective of this exploratory study is to analyse "test drives" of service offerings in a variety of service contexts by applying existing design dimensions of experience rooms in order to develop some principles to assist service designers who are interested in developing such "test drives" for their potential customers. Design/methodology/approach - An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken using three case studies with varying levels of simulation/artificiality. Data were collected from documents and interviews with service providers and customers and analysed using a framework of six dimensions Findings - The study adds a sixth dimension to the existing five dimensions or experience rooms found in the literature It also proposes seven principles to guide designers who seek to create new service "test drives" The study also introduces the new notion of "value in pre-use" (a development of "value in use") to describe the potential value of "real" services yet to be purchased Finally the study documents some of the advantages and disadvantages of using "test drives" Research limitations/implications - The exploratory and interpretive nature of the research, and the limited number of cases and respondents, limits the generalisability of the findings Practical implications - The study provides several principles that can be used in the design of service "test drives". Originality/value - This is the first paper to analyse the design dimensions of service "test drives" and to propose the notion of "value in pre-use".

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of a quality management system (QMS) for the assurance and improvement of value in an inter‐organizational business relationship. The study is carried out in the public transportation industry where service provision has been outsourced.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews are conducted with 26 participants from two organizations involved in an inter‐organizational business relationship. From the interview material, the authors identified the drivers that create value for the inter‐organizational business relationship and for the customers of public transportation. All value drivers are categorized according to the central areas in a QMS.Findings – The results show that internal processes and management responsibility are central areas where value is destroyed. Since service provision has been outsourced, this means that the intended value is never experienced by the customer.Research limitations/implications – The identified value creators and destroyers originate from the suppliers' view and focus on how the different suppliers create value for customers.Practical implications – Managers should acquire knowledge about the value they create or destroy and focus on improving the value‐creation processes. The QMS can be used to assure and improve value creation in an inter‐organizational business relationship.Originality/value – The research sheds light on the difficulties and possibilities in value creation where service provision has been outsourced.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the effects of e-government on service design as perceived by employees. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses semi-structured interviews with middle managers and front-line employees, complemented by documentary analysis, to investigate how the introduction of e-government has affected service design in two Swedish public-sector organisations. Findings – The analysis reveals five dimensions of change in the design of services as a result of the introduction of e-government: service encounter and service process; customers as co-creators and sole producers of services; efficiency; increased complexity; and integration. The study discusses the significance of these findings with particular examples from transcriptions of the interviews. Research limitations/implications – This study is rather limited and exploratory in nature; however, it does provide useful information on the categories of change in the redesign of services for e-government and it does point the way to important avenues of future research in this field. Practical implications – Four practical implications flow from the present research: managers should involve both employees and customers in projects and processes during the introduction of e-government services; the services must be redesigned to ensure that the benefits of the information and communication technologies systems are fully realised; the introduction of e-government might require more time being made available to assist certain customers who are in need of extra time and support from employees; and the time that is saved as a result of the introduction of e-government must be profitably utilized by careful advance planning. Originality/value – The study makes an original contribution by identifying five categories of change in the design of services in the context of the introduction of e-government.

Industrial companies today are becoming increasingly service-oriented and therefore need to shift from selling hardware to valuing services and managing customer relationships. A new and particularly significant challenge for these companies is how to initiate relationships which is an issue that has received surprisingly limited scientific attention. The aim of this study is to develop a conceptualization that explores the dynamics in the relationship initiation process in service-dominant settings. Narratives from three sellers of professional services, augmented with narratives from a buyer's view, form the empirical basis of the study. The dynamics in the relationship initiation process are clarified with three new concepts: status, converter, and inhibitor. The paper concludes with implications of the new conceptualization and suggestions for future research.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to present a model for values-based sustainable servicebusiness grounded in the concept of values-based service quality. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review and interpretations of fivenarratives from a values-driven company, IKEA, the paper proposes a model of values-based servicequality for sustainable service business. Findings – The study distinguishes four dimensions of values-based service quality and fivedimensions of sustainability. These are all incorporated in the proposed model. Originality/value – This is a fundamental study of the role of values-based service quality increating sustainable service business based on value-in-use for customers and the desirable values ofcorporate culture with which products and services are associated.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of change pressure exerted by the “market” on governmental services in quality improvement processes. Two research questions are investigated. How can the role of external pressure exerted by customers and users, for quality improvement, be described and understood in governmental services? How can we understand the internal response (to external pressure exerted by customers and users, for change and quality improvement) as a strategic and cultural process? Design/methodology/approach – This study focuses on two main levels: the operational level, where we analyse how the service offerings (or concepts) are designed to meet the needs (and changing needs) of the customers/citizens, the design of the service process, and the formation of the service system in terms of resources, organisational structure and culture; and the strategic level, where we analyse the interdependence between service strategy and service culture. Three cases originating from governmental services in Sweden form the empirical basis for the study. Findings – First, the service concept must be in line with, and match, the target group to be served. If there is a gap the organisation will have an inherent quality problem. The second lesson is that the service process must be understood and accepted by both the employees and the users/customers. The results show that a lack of flexibility is a common reason behind quality problems. Involving customers more is one way of designing more flexibility. The third lesson is that the service system is also a question of the norms and values forming the basis for a service culture that supports the service process. Research limitations/implications – The article is based on just three cases from one country. More case studies are needed, and in different cultural contexts. Practical implications – The pressure for change exerted in governmental organisations is not very different when compared to

Focuses on customer expectations on service guarantees. Theoretically, the basis consists of previous guidelines for service guarantee design. The empirical context is public transport, where customers that have invoked a service guarantee participate in focus groups. The results expand on prior research, which has argued that negative industry reputation is a hotbed for service guarantees and that the most preferred guarantee is unconditional; the paper’s results imply that customers prefer detailed regulations for when the guarantee is applicable, and that their general disbelief in a company with negative reputation makes the unconditional guarantee seem like a rip off. The results also indicate that the customers of a public service want the guarantee to be fair, that is, fairness in the possibility for all customers to invoke the guarantee, that all customers are familiar with the guarantee and that it cannot be misused by cheating customers. One of the contributions of the article is therefore to add “fairness” as a dimension to the previous guidelines suggested by Hart.

Not much attention has been devoted to the relationship between service culture and service strategy, including services marketing strategy. The assumption that service culture drives service strategy has not been empirically examined. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the strategic role that service culture and service strategy have for business development in a long-term perspective. The empirical basis for our discussion comes from IKEA, the largest retail furniture firm in the world. Our results clearly show the importance of a strong and dynamic service culture for market and business success

Not much attention has been devoted to the relationship between service culture and service strategy, including services marketing strategy. The assumption that service culture drives service strategy has not been empirically examined. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the strategic role that service culture and service strategy have for business development in a long-term perspective. The empirical basis for our discussion comes from IKEA, the largest retail furniture firm in the world. Our results clearly show the importance of a strong and dynamic service culture for market and business success.

The aim of this conceptual article is to explain how sustainable business practices enable transformation from a circular economy to a circular society. A sustainability business practice, which has a broader mission than just being firm-centric, implies a regenerative, but also a more societal meaning in interaction with transformation and innovation. The article uses multidisciplinary theory to suggest a conceptual model. The explanatory power is shown in an empirical investigation, through a qualitative approach, of three values-based enterprises: IKEA, Löfbergs, and Eataly. These three enterprises use circular thinking and innovation as proactive tools for identifying challenges and developing a transformation agenda in implementing the SDGs. This article contributes to the ongoing discussions on sustainability and service research by focusing on sustainability, innovation, and transformation by explicitly linking the adoption of sustainability to a circular economy using sustainable business-societal practices transformation to give an impact to the society to become more circular. As a conceptual study, the article has also identified previously unexplored connections between sustainability and service research and introduced new constructs on linking the adoption of sustainability to a circular economy. Keywords: circular economy; circular society; sustainability; transformation; service.

We report preliminary findings from an online study, identifying people’s attitudes toward privacy issues. The results confirm some of the previous research findings regarding demographic and contextual dependencies of privacy perceptions. The research presents a new scale for measuring attitudes to privacy issues that is based on privacy harms. The results suggest that people consider privacy harms in generic and simplified terms, rather than as separated issues suggested in legal research. This research identified major factors that people tend to think of while considering online privacy., Privacy&Us

We report preliminary findings from an online study, identifying people’s attitudes toward privacy issues. The results confirm some of the previous research findings regarding demographic and contextual dependencies of privacy perceptions. The research presents a new scale for measuring attitudes to privacy issues that is based on privacy harms. The results suggest that people consider privacy harms in generic and simplified terms, rather than as separated issues suggested in legal research. This research identified major factors that people tend to think of while considering online privacy., Privacy&Us

We report preliminary findings from an online study, identifying people’s attitudes toward privacy issues. The results confirm some of the previous research findings regarding demographic and contextual dependencies of privacy perceptions. The research presents a new scale for measuring attitudes to privacy issues that is based on privacy harms. The results suggest that people consider privacy harms in generic and simplified terms, rather than as separated issues suggested in legal research. This research identified major factors that people tend to think of while considering online privacy., Privacy&Us

We report preliminary findings from an online study, identifying people’s attitudes toward privacy issues. The results confirm some of the previous research findings regarding demographic and contextual dependencies of privacy perceptions. The research presents a new scale for measuring attitudes to privacy issues that is based on privacy harms. The results suggest that people consider privacy harms in generic and simplified terms, rather than as separated issues suggested in legal research. This research identified major factors that people tend to think of while considering online privacy., Privacy&Us

We report preliminary findings from an online study, identifying people’s attitudes toward privacy issues. The results confirm some of the previous research findings regarding demographic and contextual dependencies of privacy perceptions. The research presents a new scale for measuring attitudes to privacy issues that is based on privacy harms. The results suggest that people consider privacy harms in generic and simplified terms, rather than as separated issues suggested in legal research. This research identified major factors that people tend to think of while considering online privacy., Privacy&Us

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore how organizational structure and information processes frame the abilities of organizations to reach their objectives. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses multiple cases to gain a holistic understanding of the role of organizational structure in learning within public organizations. This study comprises 11 semi-structured phone interviews with 11 respondents each representing a Regional public transport authority (RPTA) in Sweden. Findings –This article argues that the organizational structures and personal or impersonal information processing mechanisms in Swedish public transport influence the search for information and subsequent organizational learning influencing the RPTAs’ ability to reach their objectives. Originality/value – Unlike previous studies, this article shows how organizational structures in public organization, such as Swedish public transport, are decided based on political compromises rather the needs to solve coordination problems.

The importance of the servicescape is well established in the marketing literature. The prevailing view focuses on the effect of the servicescape on customers. Recently, the traditional view on servicescapes has been challenged by a view that conceives services and servicescapes as an issue for interaction and interactive value formation. The interactive view highlights resource integration and the knowledge and skills of customers. Yet, to date, empirical studies on this subject are still scarce. By applying a microethnographic research approach in a study of public transport customers and drawing on script theory, this paper identifies four types of customer scripts: generic, incongruent, rigid, and transformative scripts. Their role in resource integration activities of customers, as well as the customer experience, is discussed in this article., Part of thesis: Customer experiences of resource integration